The News on Sunday / Pakistan
20 November 2005

For a better tomorrow :
Amid preparations for the World Fisheries Day on November 21, Pakistani fishermen say they have little reason to celebrate
By Shahid Shah

Fatima is in her early 40s but looks much older. Having lost her husband some years ago, she lives in the little Dabla Mohalla in the fishermen village of Rehri Mian, situated on the Karachi coast, with her children. The village continues to exist in the 18th century, what with all these huts. The scene is too un-remarkable for Fatima to speak much. Or is there more to her story?

She helps her daughter run a small business, and for the rest of the day, confines herself to her hut, benumbed...insane according to some. Those around her say she is better off for having lost her senses, otherwise she might have found the the ordeal unbearable.

It's been four years since Fatima's maternal uncle and a nephew were detained by the Indian forces. "They had gone fishing in the sea but never returned. Nor did their companions," says Fatima's daughter, Mariam Usman.

In the true family tradition, Mariam looks much older than her 20 years. She went to school up to class three before the circumstances compelled her to stop. Many years later, she has resumed her studies at the adult literacy centre working in her village. "I was inspired by all these people who were attending school," she tells TNS, saying that besides lack of education, poor health of people in her village worries her. As other people enter the conversation, the list grows: lack of sufficient opportunities to earn and an absence of rule of law. While Maryam has retraced her steps to a better understanding of life, thousands of other fisherfolk families are struggling to secure their basic rights. These fishermen are going to celebrate the World Fisheries Day on November 21. They will mark the occasion with cultural shows, stage dramas, food fairs and exhibitions. But can this one-day affair help lift the feeling of despair that has accumulated over time?

The fishermen say they are the most vulnerable creatures around. They can be baited and caught by the influential lords and by those running the government and netted by forces of a foreign country.

Currently, Pakistan holds around 250 Indian fishermen in its jails against 30 Pakistani fishermen who are detained in India. There has been plenty of discussion on the subject but no concrete official measures. The fishermen on either side have been demanding a demarcation line, but so far no boundary have emerged on water. Meanwhile, more fishermen continue to be hauled up for crossing their territorial limits.

Within the country, the fishermen complain of being exploited by the traders and contractors. "Whatever we catch, we have to surrender to the contractor at nominal rates," says Mahmood, a fisherman in Karachi.

Moreover, these fishermen are caught in the crossfire between the petty feudal lords at jetties and the traders. And, due to overfishing, the individual revenue has been cut down by 60 per cent. "Our fishing trips at the sea span many weeks and we have to borrow food and money from the contractors and traders," Mahmood says. "When we are back, we have to surrender the catch to them."

He says the per trip catch has dwindled from one million fish until a few years ago to around 300,000 now. "In the coastal villages of Ibrahim Hyderi and Rehri Mian, fishermen go without a diet of prawn for fish for days."

Deep sea fishing by big trawlers is cited by the fishermen as a major blow to their livelihood. The government has permitted deep-sea fishing by trawlers for 12 nautical miles, which has led to the depletion of fish stock. Fishermen say these trawlers spread pollution by dumping unwanted dead fish species back in the sea,. But so far, the government has not intervened.

Led by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, these fishermen are appalled by the low price that they get for their catch. Despite an increase of more than 200 per cent in the prices of diesel and the ice used for storage, fishermen are forced to sell their catch at the price which obtained a decade ago.

In fact, in some cases the prices have come down. In the current season, fresh brown prawn has been sold at Rs120 to Rs 140 per kg against a price Rs 160 to Rs 200 ten years back. Pink prawn (iced) fetched a price of Rs 80 to Rs 110 in the market this season as opposed to Rs 90 to Rs 95 a decade ago. Similarly fish waste, which is used in poultry feed was sold at Rs 6 per kg some three years back but the poultry feed factories have cut it down to around Rs 4 per kg. The poultry feed producers say they are importing soya from India, so there is less demand for fish waste .

Perhaps most disillusioning for the fishermen is the treatment they get from 'their' government. They say they have to bribe government officials for securing contracts for fishing -- a charge that the officials have been denying all these years. The matter is pending in the Sindh High Court, which has already issued notices to some contractors. Fishermen wait for the ruling with bated breath.